Twenty registered sex offenders in Fort Smith share living space in an apartment complex on the extreme southwest side of the city, according to information on the Fort Smith Police Department website.
The offenders, all males, range in age from 28 to 67 and all share either a 601 or 621 address on Xavier Street, which is west of Wheeler Avenue and east of Stateline Road on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border.
There may be multiple reasons for so many offenders gathering in one location, first and foremost being the willingness of the owners of the apartment complex to take them in as tenets. It is also a legal location for sex offenders to have residency.
Also, Act 330 of the Arkansas legislature makes it it unlawful for a Level 3 or Level 4 registered sex offender to reside within 2,000 feet of property on which any public or private elementary or secondary school or daycare facility is located.
All but one of the tenets in the apartment complex fall within the Level 3 category.
No Fort Smith Public schools fall within the prescribed 2000 feet buffer, but two churches fall within 400 feet and a privately -owner youth activity complex on Wheeler Avenue is just a little over 1000 feet north of the apartments.
Entry to public parks and youth centers is also prohibited, and a Level 3 or 4 offender is not allowed to live within 2000 feet of their victim or to have direct or indirect contact with them for purpose of harassment.
Nineteen of the offenders are listed as High Risk Level 3 offenders, with the only other tenet being a Level 2 offender.
Crimes committed by the offenders include indecent Exposure, Sexual Indecency with a Child, Sexual Assault of a Child, First, Second and Third Degree Sexual Assault, Promoting Prostitution, False Imprisonment, Violation of a Minor, Rape, Computer Child Pornography, Lewd or Lascivious Acts with a Child, Distributing, Possessing, or Viewing of Matter Depicting Sexually Explicit Conduct Involving a Child, and Enticement of a Child.
You can read more about these and other registered sex offenders in Fort Smith by following the link to: https://sheriffalerts.com/cap_office_disclaimer.php?office=55055&fwd=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zaGVyaWZmYWxlcnRzLmNvbS9jYXBfbWFpbi5waHA/b2ZmaWNlPTU1MDU1
